Rove: Latest Obamacare Changes Are Admission of 'Complete Failure'

The latest changes in Obamacare that grant people a "hardship exemption" from having to purchase healthcare insurance are an admission by the Obama administration of the "complete failure" in rolling out the healthcare law, Karl Rove said Friday.

"This is an admission of utter, complete failure on the part of the administration in rolling this plan out and making it available to Americans," Rove told Fox News' "America's News HQ."

"It is an utter total declaration that this program is a mess. And that everything they have tried to date has not worked," Rove, former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, said.

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President Barack Obama's administration announced Thursday night that people who had lost their health insurance because of Obamacare could purchase catastrophic plans. The White House also announced some people who do not purchase insurance may avoid paying the mandate.

Rove said the administration had already deemed some catastrophic health policies as "junk," but are now saying those same policies are now acceptable.

Rove questioned why only people who had formerly had coverage could buy a policy under the latest change.

"If it's good enough for the people who lost their coverage, why isn't the same option good enough for the people who are currently uninsured? Why not allow everybody to do it?" Rove asked.

Rove said the latest change would drive up premiums "because the people who are going to be left in the exchanges are going to tend to be people who are older and less healthy."

The latest changes in Obamacare that grant people a "hardship exemption" from having to purchase healthcare insurance are an admission by the Obama administration of the "complete failure" in rolling out the healthcare law, Karl Rove said Friday.